The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe

by Roland Smith

Born the runt of his litter and gambled away to a rusty old riverman, the Newfoundland pup Seaman doesn’t imagine his life will be marked by any kind of glory--beyond chasing down rats. But when he meets Captain Meriwether Lewis, Seaman finds himself on a path that will make history. Lewis is just setting off on his landmark search for the Northwest Passage, and he takes Seaman along. Sharing the curiosity and strength of spirit of his new master, Seaman proves himself a valuable companion at every turn. Part history, part science--and adventure through and through--The Captain’s Dog is the carefully researched, thrilling tale of America’s greatest journey of discovery, as seen through the keen, compassionate eyes of a remarkable dog.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Dogs, Historical, Animals, Childrens

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Roland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.
Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University and, following a part-time job at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, began a 20-year career as a zookeeper, both at the Oregon Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, in 1990, he published his first book, Sea Otter Rescue, a non-fiction account of the process of animal rescue. Smith continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996.
In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thundercave. The book continues Smith's theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. The Lansa character also appears in 1999
s Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo. Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot. Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains, Elephant Run and Tentacles(novel). In 2008, Smith published the first book in the series I, Q, titled Independence Hall. Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. Smith lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always had an interest in the Lewis and Clark expedition but it wasn't until I started working at Washington State's Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment that I've had access to so many different books on the subject.

I love animals and I loved hearing about Seaman (Captain Lewis' Newfoundland dog) during the expedition so when I found this book at the Interpretive Center gift shop I had to give it a read even though it's for young readers and I'm an avid adult reader. It was an easy read for me but I think it's a great book to get young readers into learning more about the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The book takes key moments from the expedition and is written from Seaman's point of view so it simplifies it enough for young readers to be able to understand and enjoy. I think of it as one of the first steps into reading about the Lewis and Clark expedition before going into the actual journals later on.

I highly recommend this book to young and old readers who want to know more about the Lewis and Clark expedition from a fun doggy point of view.

[Patti Borneman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annika (8 years old) and I are 100 pages into this charming and delightful book told from Seaman's point of view. The book was given to her when it was culled from a school library's collection, so we can take our time with it. We are absolutely loving the mixture of history, adventure, storytelling, and thoughtful canine wisdom and whimsy. Many of the lines are lyrical and read like prose. The vocabulary is rich enough to make it interesting for adult readers and intellectually stimulating for a child. Annika loves to learn new words and their meanings, like blunderbuss and parley. This is not her first introduction to Lewis and Clark, but it's a great way to become familiar with some of the journal writings.

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fun Adventure

Unique in so many ways!

At the beginning of the Lewis and Clark adventure, Captain Lewis purchased a dog for a companion. In the creative mind of the author Roland Smith, the dog, Seaman, becomes the narrator for the Lewis and Clark adventure.

That is a truly clever way to tell the story from a dog’s eyes.

I truly enjoyed this book.

[Laurie DelaCruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've read a book about the Lewis and Clark expedition, so I thoroughly enjoyed this one! And it was written from the perspective of Captain Lewis' dog, which adds a fun element for kids. There is one curse word near the end, so just be warned if your kids are reading it.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 star

I guess this book proved my theory wrong by half a star!!

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by T:
The Captain’s Dog is a great historical fiction book based on Lewis and Clarks experience through wilderness after the Louisiana Purchase. It is written from the point of view of Captain Lewis’s dog, Seaman. Seaman is currently part of a translating party which is translating Lewis’s old journal. As they translate Lewis’s old journal, Seaman is having flashbacks to the days when he was Lewis’s pet.
Roland Smith starts each chapter with a quote from Lewis’s old journal. Every chapter starts a new adventure as they endeavor to travel to the Pacific Ocean. With no food, deserters, and Indians they struggle to survive in the unmapped wilderness. Working hard and perseverance eventually pay off as they finally manage the formidable journey to the Pacific Ocean and are welcomed home as heroes.
The Captain’s Dog is an inspiring book because of the basic theme of perseverance and hard work. The Captain’s Dog is long but very interesting as Seaman meets new friends and helps the men survive in the uncharted forests and plains of the Louisiana Territory. Everyone should read this book at least once in their lifetime.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like I said in an earlier review of a Roland Smith book (Peak), I will keep giving his books a five until I have to tell one of my sons to finish. So far my sons read Roland Smith books without any "nagging" from me.
This book was interesting and creative. I enjoy history and fictional history and this is a combination of the two. The negative side of this book is that one of my sons now wants a Newfoundland Dog!

[Holli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this aloud with my 9 and 10-year-old boys. We mapped their travels and listed the animals and plants they saw, Indian tribes they interacted with, and their collections. We learned a lot more about the Lewis and Clark adventure. Fun story.

[Pauline Calkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While going over my books for possible donations to the local library, I came across this one which I intended to give to a cousin’s kid—but never did. It’s a young person’s book which recounts the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the eyes of Meriwether Lewis’s Newfoundland dog, Seaman. The story begins some years after the expedition when two veterans of the Corps of Discovery, John Colter and George Drouillard, happen upon Seaman who is then living with a Nez Perce tribe on the eastern slope of the Rockies. The villagers have Lewis’s diary and ask Colter to read it to them. Thus, while he reads excerpts, Seaman gives us a more complete story. I had read Stephen Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage just before I bought this book and I think the details about the journey are pretty accurate. And with Seaman’s doggy viewpoint, we get an idea of the smells as well as sights and sounds encountered on the journey. Seaman is sensitive to Lewis’s moods and knows when he is depressed as he is when he and Clark realize that there is no Northwest Passage. (There is still a controversy whether Lewis committed suicide or was a murder victim.). This is an enjoyable (and cute, but not overly cute) book which introduces children to a fascinating episode in American history.

[Oliver Bachelor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a great book. It takes a different perspective by sharing the story of Lewis and Clark's adventure through the eyes of their dog. I think that this was an amazing idea. I also learned quite a few things about the Lewis and Clark journey that at didn't know about before. Though, anything you do learn from this book should be taken with a grain of salt because it is fiction and many events would have been altered for the story. I find that the book did feel like it went a little slow at times but other that that I thought it was good. I would really recommend you read this book.

[Sharon Apple · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most vivid travel journal - from a dog's perspective! Made my daughter and I feel like we were right there, traveling with Seaman's human companions... amongst the friendly and not-so-friendly Native Americans; at the birth of Sacajawea's baby boy; climbing up one side of the Rockies and hunting for the "Northwest Passage" on the other side.
A MUST READ for anyone interested in an adventurous historical fiction tale, recounting the expansion of our country!

[Amy Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun angle for learning about the Lewis & Clark expedition. Of course details were added, but the story was based on records of the historic journey.

I wish there were more moments that reminded you it was from a dog's perspective (sounds, smells, thoughts, etc.) as some parts felt like they were no different from a human perspective. It would have been nice if the narrator of the audiobook changed his voice for the journal entries to differentiate them from the recollections of the dog as the transitions were not always obvious. Overall, a fun story for all ages.

[JulieAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one to our boys on a car trip from South Dakota. We actually were reading the parts that fit with the area that Lewis and Clark Traveled at the time. I didn’t plan that but it worked out perfectly! Stopped at a rest stop with a Lewis and Clark Museum and loved how it worked out. My youngest demanded me to keep reading and we made it through this on record time. I thought it had a bit of a political agenda behind it at times and it didn’t stay true to the time, but you know what? It’s all good. We just enjoyed it from Seaman’s perspective. Learned how he got his name as he traveled from Sea to Sea. He had quite the adventure! Almost got eaten at one point! Lucky puppy.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful fictionalized version of the Lewis & Clark expedition from the point of view of Seaman, Captain Lewis' Newfoundland dog. Written for young adults, each chapter begins with a piece of Lewis' journal which is followed by Seaman's version of events.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my children when they studied Lewis and Clark. Still one of our all time favorites!

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excerpts from Lewis's journal, woven together with the story of their adventure as told by Seaman the dog. Excellent read aloud to add to our recent interest in and study of Lewis & Clark! Just prior to starting this book, we visited a local Lewis & Clark museum and watched National Geographic's short film, which helped to visualize the terrain and specific points of their journey while reading this book. Looking forward to reading actual journals next!

When reading aloud, I had to edit out the use of Our Lord's name in vain. This type of stuff is frustrating to me, always, but especially in a book that is historical and geared toward children. It would be so easy for the author to exclude that entirely as it added nothing to the overall story.

[Molly Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this with the kids in the car. It complimented our American History studies nicely. Learning about Lewis & Clark from a Dog’s perspective was a creative fun way to learn about history. Definitely for older elementary ages or higher as they do reference things like soldiers being flogged for stealing beer and other such experiences one would expect in such a journey.

[Anna Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes you feel like you were actually with them on this long and amazing journey that would change America!

[Rachel Jobst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Easy read, and made me curious about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Can’t wait to read it to my kids.

[Kaye Lewis-Robnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book at a fair at the university of central missouri when i was in middle school, and it has become an old favorite of mine. I’m in college now and studying to become a writer myself, and i still re-read this book every once in a while. It is beautifully written from such a unique perspective and it will never get old for me. Love it!

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone should know about the adventures of Lewis and Clark when the explored the West looking for the Northwest Passage. Once you've read a solid history of their trip, like Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage, this makes a great companion book. It tells the story of the expedition from point of view of Seaman, the black Newfoundland dog who accompanied the explorers and who was a valued companion to the men--particularly to Meriwether Lewis.

The story is built around the framework of the actual chronology of the trip, with accurate dates and many historical figures. The author skillfully weaves in a few fictional people and events to create a more interesting narrative, but nothing that conflicts with the record. Much of the time you forget that it's a dog narrating, until some delightful take on an event is described which emphasizes smell or hearing instead of the way that a human would have perceived things.

This book is written for young adults but it's not juvenile. It's fast-paced, with colorful prose and though-provoking descriptions. I wouldn't recommend it as a stand-alone book for someone who doesn't already know something about Lewis and Clark; but it makes a great supplement and a fascinating way to look at their achievement from another angle. Also, the author is able to ascribe personality traits to many of the main characters that really help them stand out--like John Colter, George Drouillard, Toussaint Charbonneau, and the Shoshones Old Toby and Twisted Hair (oddly, I thought William Clark got a little short shrift in that regard). Sacagawea (whom Seaman calls Bird Woman, supposedly the meaning of her name in the Hidatsa language) is already well enough known to even casual readers of history that this story doesn't add much to her luster.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not really know how to go about tackling this review. I know I am WAY outside Smith's demographic. Considering I've owned this book since fifth grade. For perspective I am heading into eleventh grade. It's one of those book that you keeping putting off for another book until 5 years have gone by and you realized your perspective has evolved but your reading it because you own it.

Being from Missouri, Lewis and Clark are around all the time. Murals, statutes, school names. You cannot seem to escape Meriwether Lewis or William Clark. Which led me to buy this thrift store book in the first place that and I ADORED Roland Smith.

The book writing was bland. Seaman's voice did not seem that distinctive or inhuman. Save for a few memory drops of his past, an aversion to dog meat and bear engagement. He could have easily just been a 17th century PETA member that was born at the wrong time. This burns me to write as for me there was a trifecta in elementary school. Roland Smith books, Rick Riordan books and Dear America books made up basically every book I read in elementary school. You can tell this is one of his early books. Pre- Cryptid Hunters and Jack Lansa. Before his perfected narrative voice and stylization that I knew.

That being said, I read a lot of these types of books in elementary school. They grew my love for history to the point I now volunteer at a Historical Society.

For Dear America series fans. I urge you to take a look. (Side bar: Is Dear America still read alot by elementary schoolers?) Jump from tween girl perspective diary entries of the Oregon Trail to Seaman the fun loving sometimes barking dog that came threw years prior.

[Auryn Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think that I have ever read a historical fiction book where everything that happens is in the perspective of a dog. Most chapters begin with an entry from Captain Lewis's red book, then maybe a few lines from Colter and the people he is reading the book to, and then the rest of the chapter is in Seaman's perspective. Not all chapters follow this format as well, which is an interesting addition to the story. Even though while I was reading the book I sometimes forgot that it was the dog's memories, not events as they happened to him, the author didn't and had breaks in between where the people stop reading for the night and there is a little bit about what Seaman does the next day, before they return to the red book in the evening to read some more. The author could easily have just skipped the intermission bits, but I like the fact that they are there. The ending is also very good, and not at all sad like a lot of dog books that I have read.

[Audrey Driscoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because my household includes a Newfoundland dog, and the book was given to us by another Newf person. As I followed the course of the expedition, I could visualize the big dog sharing the men's adventures and hardships. Each chapter started with a brief excerpt from Lewis's journal, and from what I can tell, most of the events in the book were based on that, with imagined material to fill in the gaps. I appreciated the dog's point of view, even though I wondered if he could interpret human emotions as well as depicted. Altogether, this was an informative read.
Since the book is intended for younger readers, I'll mention that it contains many instances of animals being killed, mainly for food. The author does not exaggerate these incidents, but he doesn't shy away from them either. This is, of course, perfectly appropriate for the historical subject matter, but some readers may find it upsetting.

[Sassafras Patterdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot - I thought the premise of telling the story from the perspective of Seaman was really interesting and well done, completely up my alley. I think this author stayed true to the complicated historical truth of colonialism while also giving Sea a narrative voice to complicate some of that.

my only real critique (beyond the hard time I have with reading violence towards dogs) is the decision to not have Sea reach the Pacific ocean which to my understanding is not historically accurate

A+ though for good Newf story !

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captains Lewis and Clark were sent by the united states to go investigate the mountains so they could get an idea of what the suroundings of the united states looked like. Captain Lewis picked up a dog for the journey and named him Seaman. this book is basically the story of Lewis and Clark but from the dogs point of view.

this book is really funny and i would recommend this book to anyone because its just such a fun read!!

[Emylly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun! I have always had an interest in the Corps of Discovery and this book provided a new twist to their tale (tail?). It was confusing at times to determine what was present moments and what was Seaman describing the past, but I loved the mix of Lewis' journal entries with Seaman's viewpoint. It made me want to do further research about their expedition and Seaman's true story, so I'd say that an inspiring book is a good one. Want to read again!

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a great idea for a book but I found it very confusing to switch from the dog's point of view, to an entry from the Captain's journal, to Drioullard and his gang reading from the journal and rehashing memories after the fact. If it could just go by the dog's point of view it would be much easier to read.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middle-grade novel. The journey of Lewis and Clark as told by a dog traveling with them. I read this off and on as we journeyed to the West Coast and back to the Midwest. Sweet story that grew on me. At times the voice of the dog was stilted. But overall, an interesting way to tell the story. This would be a great one for kids interested in history.

[TK421 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel adds a different and welcomed perspective to the saturated field of retellings featuring the Lewis and Clark expedition. While a brisk read, the insights offered from Seaman, Captain Lewis's dog, provide a rich tapestry of detail to a well-known story.